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'Inception' melts your mind

Wow. Just wow.

In a North American summer which has been ruled mostly by remakes and sequels ('Toy Story 3', 'Shrek 4', 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse', 'Iron Man 2', 'The A-Team'), it was about time for something original - and 'Inception' is it.

Brought to the big screen by Chris Nolan (whose most famous work to date is Batman flick 'The Dark Knight'), 'Inception' is a complex, multilayered and imaginative heist film with a powerhouse cast. And it's worth every cent you'll pay in the cinema.

Leonardo DiCaprio is Dom Cobb: an "extractor" who is paid to enter people's dreams and steal their thoughts - corporate espionage at its highest degree. His work has cost him his family and his home, but he is offered a chance at redemption by the powerful businessman Saito. He and his team are hired by Saito to plant an idea in a rival's head - a concept which is the opposite of the usual "extraction" of information. Cobb puts together a dream team in order to fulfil an impossible sounding mission - and together they go further into the dream world than ever before.

The film is by no means one that you can watch mindlessly. Sure, you can try - but the beauty of 'Inception' is in its complexity - you want to focus on each layer of the film. It's a story that will leave your head spinning, figuring out possibilities and solutions along with the cast. Is it real? Is it a dream? The worlds blend seamlessly together until you are swept along with the insanity of it all. The film, once envisioned as a horror, has now become a heist film - only instead of priceless paintings or jewels, the prize here are your thoughts.

The film, by its nature, is a visual treat. The special effects are incredible - when Cobb takes architect whizkid Ariadne (played by 'Juno' star Ellen Page) on her first training missions in the dream world, when Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fights the projections in a hotel corridor, and when Cobb and Ariadne enter limbo - these are all breathtaking. Nolan attempted to film as much as he could without resorting to computer-generated effects - and the result is marvellous. Set against a haunting score composed by Hans Zimmer, it is an enthralling treat for all the senses.

A powerhouse cast has been assembled by Nolan - DiCaprio proves once again why he is one of Hollywood's greatest as he plays a combination of the action hero, the haunted widow, the lover and the insane. The incredible Marion Cotillard sweeps through the film as his dead wife, Mal - swooping in and out of dreams, usually to sabotage them. Michael Caine plays his familiar mentor role, Joseph Gorden-Levitt is all smarm and Tom Hardy steals scene after scene.

The characters scarcely develop, although the film gallops off at breakneck speed. Nolan reveals his storyline little by little, teasing the viewer with snippets of Cobb's past then sweeping them back into the story with an explosive action sequence. You don't want to miss any bit of this film - you'll only get yourself confused - so get to the cinema early.

From the first sequence to the last, ambiguous scene - 'Inception' is an enthralling film, and one definitely not to be missed.